The Lost Stone
by Galthan
Summary: The Stone of Blood has been stolen by Wizards! Darren must travel to Hogwarts, and with the aid of Mika and Arrow, retrieve the Stone of Blood. But what will happen when Harry, Ron and Hermoine find out what he is up to?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Sitting in my room in Vampire Mountain, I swung lazily back and forth on my hammock, flicking through the ancient, dog-eared pages of my older diary entries. I couldn't help but laugh at the particularly funny parts where I had written something along the lines of, 'I don't want to be a carrot's assistant!' I was glad Mr Crepsley couldn't read, as I doubted be would be very pleased that I had secretly christened him, 'Carrot Man.'

In fact, the nickname popped up regularly in my more recent entries as well. I remembered writing yesterday, after Mr Crepsley had been particularly harsh during a training session, 'Carrot Man can go and stick a sword up his-' The entry hadn't been finished as at that moment Mr Crepsley had walked into the room.

I was really quite proud of my creativeness with nicknames for my mentor. Others were: Mr Crapsley, Orange Oaf, The Mighty Carrot, etc. The majority of them, as you have probably already guessed, where vegetable related.

I closed over my diary and, kneeling down, slid it into a tiny nook in the wall which I had discovered the last time I had been hoping to hide my diary from Mr Crepsley. Despite the fact that he could not read or write, Mr Crepsley could recognise his name written down, and I didn't doubt that he would be curious to find out just what his student _really _thought about him.

Glancing down at my feet, I noticed the tiny, ragged hole forming just where my right foot lay in the scratchy fabric of my hammock. I would have to ask the ancient quarter master, Seba Nile, to find me a new one. Despite being used to living the sweet life as a vampire prince, I wasn't ready to resort to coffins just yet.

Sweet, yeah right.

Life as a prince was definitely a lot harder, and different, than I had expected. I had been imagining something more along the lines of me, laying on a lush, red velvet throne while beautiful women dressed in white silk fed me grapes and offered me foot rubs. Then again, I couldn't quite imagine Arra Sails, one of the only females at Vampire Mountain, ever wearing anything so girly. Keep dreaming, Darren.

As I removed my hands from the hole in the wall, my diary now firmly hidden away from prying eyes, I caught sight of the tiny, white scars which patterned them, ones I had acquired from the Trails of Death. A constant reminder of one of the most traumatic experiences I had ever had to face. I knew that many vampires repeated the trails. Arra Sails herself had completed them three times, but you would have to pay me a million pounds to get me anywhere near one of those death games again.

Luckily, thank the vampire gods, my hair had grown back a short while after the trials, completing the look on my already stunning features. After yelping with delight when I had first felt the dark stubble tickle my bald scalp, Mr Crepsley had shot me a strange look. Noticing how my hands were caressing my head lovingly, he had said, "It is just hair, Darren. Be glad that you hair is not permanently orange,"

Suddenly, with a crash, the door was flung open with such force that one of the hinges broke off, snapping me out of my reverie, and my dear old mentor, Carrot- I mean Mr Crepsley, burst into the room. Actually, maybe burst was a bit of an understatement. Mr Crepsley _threw_ himself into the room, and then proceeded to flail about in a manner which both shocked and disturbed me, and fell to his knees.

At first, I assumed that he was worshipping my mightiness, which seemed a perfectly reasonable explanation, when I caught sight of the distraught expression on his face.

With one swift movement, Mr Crepsley lunged forwards and grabbed the sleeve of my shirt, tearing the fabric in the process due to his knife-like nails. I stared down in horror at the tattered sleeve. I couldn't believe it. That was my favourite shirt!

What on earth was happening? Now I was beginning to get nervous. What if Mr Crepsley had found out about the little prank Mika, Arrow and I had played on him? Cutting a large-ish chunk of his hair out while he was asleep probably hadn't been the smartest of ideas.

I braced myself as he turned to face me, although, to my confusion, he looked more worried than angry. Instead of batting me across the head and screaming at me in rage for giving him an unscheduled hair cut, he let his grip on my shoulder relax and stared at me with steely eyes.

"There is a huge emergency in the Hall of Princes which could threaten the future of the clan. While you have been frolicking with your _diary_," He spat the word out as if it were a particularly rotten vegetable, "The rest of the princes have been waiting for you,"

"What?" I gasped, my hand flying to my gaping mouth. _Surely_ Mika and Arrow hadn't gone and blown something up again. "Look, I don't know where they got the dynamite from this time, and-"

This time Mr Crepsley did bat me across the head.

"No, you idiot!" He snapped, and then added as an afterthought, "Although I did overhear them planning something involving grenades, fruit salad and bikinis. I would stay away from the Hall of Death for a while if I were you,"

His eyes glazed over in thought for a couple of seconds. I stood awkwardly beside him, nervously biting my tough fingernails, a habit which I had been meaning to stop, but due to all the nerve-wracking things which went on in the mountain, it was proving difficult. What had he meant, 'Could threaten the future of the clan?' Had vampaneze invaded the mountain? Or maybe-

"Darren! Come! Now!" Mr Crepsley snapped, then strode out the door and along the corridor to the Hall of Princes. I followed grudgingly, hands in pockets and staring down at my feet as I scuffed along. What was I going to find when we stepped into the Hall?

The short journey to the Hall of Princes passed uneventfully. I had zoned out a little when Mr Crepsley had gone on one of his lectures about why vampire princes shouldn't have diaries. When I told him that it was a journal, not a diary, I was rewarded with another whack across the head.

Being a prince, and the only one of the two of us who could open the doors leading to the hall, I passed Mr Crepsley a smug look, and then pushed the ridiculously heavy doors open. After a short struggle, in which Mr Crepsley was watching with some amusement, the doors opened wide enough for the two of us to slip through.

The usually packed hall seemed deserted at first, but with another quick glance around the huge space, I noticed the three figures whispering hurriedly to one another at the other end. We made our way briskly to the table where they were seated, and then I sat back on my throne next to Paris, immensely enjoying the look on Mr Crepsley's face as he continued standing. I shot him yet another smug look, which said, 'I love sitting on my throne, why don't you go and sit on your throne too? Oh yeah, you don't have one."

Call me immature, but it is extremely entertaining. Sometimes it amazes me how many things you can get away with when you are a vampire prince.

Suddenly, Paris cleared his throat loudly and spoke. "Darren, something terrible has happened-"

"I know," I interrupted lazily, "But I already told Mr Crepsley that I don't know where Mika and Arrow got the dynamite."

"That is not what I meant-"

"And apparently we should stay away from the Hall of Death for the next couple of days."

"Please Darren, this is important-"

"And Mr Crepsley said that-"

"THE STONE OF BLOOD HAS BEEN STOLEN!" Arrow bellowed, the shout echoing through the huge hall, "SO JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO PARIS!"

"Oh," I squeaked.

Unsurprisingly, I listened intently to what Paris had to say.

"Thank-you, Arrow," Paris said with a small smile, despite the catastrophe at hand, "Now, Darren. As Arrow said, the Stone of Blood has, indeed, been stolen,"

I nodded a little dazed. How on earth had the Stone of Blood been stolen? The Vampaneze couldn't even get into the hall, and I was sure I would have heard them if they had been rampaging through the mountain. Unless it wasn't the Vampaneze…

I was surprised at Paris' coolness for the whole situation. The rest of the princes, including myself, were nervous wrecks, jittering about, hands trembling, sweat glittering on their foreheads.

But that's when I saw the mischievous glint in the elderly prince's sparkling blue eyes. He had a plan. And by what I heard next, I was stuck in the centre of it.

"It was stolen by what?" I gasped for the third time. I stuck a finger in my ear and wiggled it around a little, just to make sure I wasn't hearing things.

"Wizards, Darren," Paris said patiently, as if he were talking to a two year old. Unfortunately, Mika, Arrow and Mr Crepsley weren't so patient. I could see them beginning to get annoyed at my ignorance.

"It was stolen by wha-"

"Wizards!" Mika finally shouted, to the relief of the others.

I was still pretty skeptical. Despite Paris' confidence that wizards had snuck in and stolen the Stone of Blood, it was pretty hard to believe that they were real, considering I had grown up being told that things like witches and wizards were not imaginary. Then again, I thought to myself with a grim smile, I had grown up being taught that vampires were not real, and look where I was now. Standing in a mountain full of them.

Paris caught my look of disbelief, and sighed. "Darren, the wizards are real. How else would the Stone of Blood been stolen? We have to get it back, who knows what the wizards might use it for if we give them long enough to unlock its powers?"

I nodded. I could feel myself beginning to believe that this really was real, although a small part at the back of my mind told me that Mika and Arrow would shout, "Got you!" Then produce the completely undamaged Stone of Blood from under the table. It didn't happen.

"We vampires do not know much of the wizarding world, but I happen to know of a school for young wizards named 'Hogwarts'" Paris continued.

Hogwarts? A school for young wizards? I looked back, sharing a quizzical look with Mr Crepsley, who shrugged, obviously as baffled as I was, his eyebrows creased in confusedness.

"But," said Paris, grinning widely, "I have a plan. We shall send Darren to Hogwarts. He will have to pretend that he is magical and blend in with all the other students, which will be quite difficult, I presume. It will be hard for a vampire prince to blend in at a school full of wizards. We would send one of the other, more experienced vampires in, but Darren is the only member of the clan who could pass as a student. Therefore, possibly our only hope,"

Gee, Paris, no pressure there.

"Darren will travel to the school by train, with Mika and Arrow flitting along beside it. When they arrive at the school, Mika and Arrow will both have to hide during the day, then can feed at night from the students or teachers, and search the school. We will, hopefully, have the Stone of Blood back within the next couple of months or so,"

With that, Paris sat back, twiddling his thumbs and looking extremely pleased with himself. I passed an incredulous look with Mika and Arrow, who shrugged, grinning. It was fine for them to smile. They weren't the ones actually having to go to the school and mix with the students. And the lessons… I put my head in my hands, groaning softly. Just when I thought I had got away from school.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Paris added cheerily, "You'll leave in three days,"

I couldn't believe that just five minutes ago I had been worrying about my torn shirt.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

**A/N Hi everyone! I was meant to put this on the first chapter, but I didn't realise you had to write the authors note **_**before **_**you posted your story. Oops. Anyway, this is my first ever fan fiction! Please read and review, and I hope you like it! **

After two days of being scared out of my wits, teased by Arrow and Mika and learning the plan inside out along with everything I ever needed to know about wizards from Paris, I was ready to go.

The scarlet engine pulled into the bustling station, to a chorus of excited whispers from the students on the platform. Golden letters were painted across the front of the train, reading, 'The Hogwarts Express,'

I was standing, along with Mika and Arrow, at Platform 9 and ¾, which had been ridiculously hard to find, considering we had to run into a solid brick wall. A little bruised from a previous incident where I had been knocked down by a luggage trolley, which happened to have Mika in it, yelling and hooting widely, I turned to the two of them.

The pair of princes stood awkwardly among the crowd, staring with wide eyes as magic was performed, the wands setting off powerful sparks. They seemed to be attracting a lot of attention from the witches and wizards on the station, and I couldn't blame them. Mika and Arrow were extremely out of place, considering the fact that they were both hideously scarred, pale, and weighted down with an array of weapons, which would have been enough to supply an army. It didn't help when Arrow had screamed at a woman swathed in green robes who had hurried past him, bumping him in the process, about 'How dare she disrespect her better!' and 'I am but a prince! You should be sent to the Hall of Death!'

I, though, blended in perfectly. Not in the way I would have liked, though. I looked ridiculous wearing long black robes, a pointed hat which looked like it had come from a child's Halloween costume, and carrying a wooden stick. When Mika and Arrow were not looking, I had tried waving it about and muttering, 'Abracadabra' like I had seen may of the other students in the platform doing, but to no avail. Maybe, just maybe, it didn't work because this actually wasn't a wand. This was a real stick, which Mika had plucked from a low hanging branch about five minutes ago. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to see how long it would take for the teachers to find out.

"You should probably get going," Mika said from behind me, grinning, "You don't want to be late for your first day at school!"

"Shut up," I growled. I could feel my cheeks heating up, a sign that I was blushing furiously. Mika and Arrow noticed too, exchanging pleased smiles.

"Work hard! Make friends!" Arrow added, pushing me forwards encouragingly.

I shot him an angry glare as he and Mika smirked widely at me, waving their own 'wands' about as they mocked the wizards, prancing about like the sugar-plum fairies from hell.

This, however, attracted even more attention, causing more heads to turn our way. I didn't know why Paris had been worried that_ I _would mess this up. Who were the ones prancing about like fairies, Paris? Hmm?

After the two princes had completed their ballet routine, a second attempt was made to push me onto the train. I already knew I wasn't going to win this fight. Despite my skills, two full vampires against one half wasn't going to work in my favour, and, no matter how hard I stamped my heels into the ground, pushed them away, or struggled in their grasp, within two minutes I was standing at the entrance to the train.

Mika and Arrow made mock salutes to me, winking, then the doors slid closed and I was alone on a train full of hundreds of young wizards. Now was the time to put part one of the plan into action. Where did I start?

I strode through the carriages, peering hesitantly into each compartment I passed for a group of students who looked friendly, and easy enough to trick. Mika's cover story wasn't exactly convincing. The carriages were bustling and noisy, the sounds of laughing, shouting and talking filling my ears to an extent that a strange buzzing noise rang in through my head. An array of animalistic noises could be heard too, hooting, croaking and, oh no, meowing. Vampires plus cats equalled trouble. It was just my luck to be stuck on a train full of grumpy kitties, but it was too late to back down now.

Exasperated, I stopped in front of a random compartment. The students around me had begun filing into their seats, settling down for the long journey ahead. It wouldn't be long until the train began to move.

On the other side of the glass, a group of students hovered around a handsome blonde boy, like fan girls meeting their favourite celebrities. They stared up at him admiringly as he talked, then laughed loudly where it seemed appropriate. The boy appeared to be telling a hilarious joke.

Just as I reached out to slide open the glass separating myself from the group, a hand tapped my shoulder.

Yelping, I whirled around, reaching under my jacket on instinct to pull my sword out. It was only when I had pulled it from my jacket and had it pressed against the boy's neck, did I realise that in my panic, I had drawn the stick. Growling, I pushed it firmly into the back pocket of my jeans. My first impression wasn't going too well. Two minutes in and I was already threatening innocent people with sticks.

"Sorry," I grumbled, my cheeks flushing again.

Facing me stood a tall, lightly muscled boy with a shock of dark hair and a thin pair of circular glasses, which had been taped over where they had presumably been broken. His dark fringe concealed most of the small, lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead, though the remainder of the wound peeked out from under the tangle of hair. He seemed a little startled at my sudden outburst, but quickly regained his composure and smiled warmly at me, his piercing green eyes looking me up and down.

"That's Malfoy, he's a stupid twit. I wouldn't sit there if I were you," The boy said coolly, "Call me Harry, by the way, Harry Potter,"

He held out his hand politely, which I shook firmly. I had almost forgotten my vampire strength, and only remembered when I caught Harry wincing in pain, and saw the ugly, purple bruises appearing on his hands. I quickly pulled my hand back.

"Darren Shan," I muttered.

I must have looked extremely strange to him. I was tall and bulky, with huge muscles, probably stronger than anyone else in the school. I was about a head taller than Harry, anyway.

At his invitation, I followed Harry to his own compartment, where two students were already seated. I slid in beside Harry awkwardly as his two friends looked up to stare at me suspiciously. What were they looking at? I wasn't that ugly, was I?

"Hi Harry!" The boy sitting across from me exclaimed brightly, "Hermione and I were just wondering what those two weirdoes were doing out there on the station." He pointed out of the window to where Arrow and Mika were standing, guffawing loudly about something. I groaned inwardly, to a worried look from Ron.

"You've never met them before, have you," He asked nervously, biting his already shredded fingernails, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything. I mean, if they were your friends-"

"Nope," I grumbled, cutting him off from his rant. He visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumping down in relief, "Never seen them before in my life."

The boy who has spoken was tall and gangly, with ruffled, ginger hair and freckles dappling his face. "Ron Weasley," he introduced himself. I shook his hand, but this time I made sure I didn't make the same mistake I had made with Harry.

The other person in the carriage; Hermione, Ron had called her, was seemingly engrossed in a huge, leather bound book. Her chocolate brown eyes darted across the page as she read. This reminded me even more of what I would have to face when I got to Hogwarts: Wizards, battles, deaths, but worst of all, homework. Hermione's hair curled around her head like a lion's mane, dark and frizzy, and every so often a stray strand would fall into her eyes, and she would reach up with a slender hand to swipe it away. And beside her, the ugliest cat I had ever seen in my life. The feline hissed and yowled at me from across the compartment, then scampered under the table and leapt out of the compartment, scratching my legs as it streaked past. Hermione didn't even seem to notice.

"I've never seen you here before," Ron said, suspicion creeping into his voice, "What's your name?"

I introduced myself, my mind in a whirr as I failed to remember Mika's cover story. What had he said again? Something about dragons and-

Too. Late.

"So," Ron asked the question I had been dreading, "Why haven't you been here for the past four years?"

I glanced around nervously as the students watched me. Even Hermione had set her book down to listen to my story. Sweat began to trickle down my forehead. Part two of the plan was now in action.

"Well," I laughed drily, "Funny story that. You see, I just, emm, recovered from a dragon attack, where, my, umm, legs were bitten off, and had to be, like, sowed back on."

I pulled the top of my trouser down to reveal a conveniently placed scar which curved round where my hip began, to the gasps of horror from the three wizards. I had actually acquired it after sword fighting with Vancha, but they didn't have to know that. A smile played on my lips. I was beginning to get the hang of this 'creative truth telling' as Mika called it.

"And my fairy girl-friend, Chelsea, was there too, but she was fatally injured, so I had to get her back to my kingdom in time so that she wouldn't die. We flew over there in my Pegasus, but-" I stopped at their dumb-struck faces. Each of their expressions were exactly the same, shock and disbelief.

Okay, maybe I was pushing my luck a little.

"Forget everything I said," I sighed, then added quickly, "But not about the Pegasus!"

We chatted for the rest of the train journey. Harry, Ron and Hermione explained what life was like at Hogwarts, which, I had to admit, didn't sound too bad, apart from the dreaded potions master, Snape. I was beginning to warm to the three of them. I hadn't had a set of normal friends in years. Well, they weren't exactly normal friends, considering they were all wizards, but I truly enjoyed talking to them and learning about their lives.

A couple of hours later, as night was fast approaching, the train chugged its way into the station, in a mysterious but welcoming looking little village named, 'Hogsmeade.' I pressed my face against the window, causing the glass to steam up, clouding my vision, and my nose to squash in sideways. I could just make out, behind the huge, towering trees of a large, foreboding forest, Hogwarts Castle.

Part two was complete. Part three, its go time!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

**A/N Just to say, thank you to everyone who reviewed my previous chapters, it made me feel really good! I will probably be updating every 2-3 days, so please check back every so often for a new chapter. Please review! Thanks again and enjoy!**

After a short, and extremely uncomfortable, carriage ride up to Hogwarts, I was finally able to see the castle in its full glory. A mass of dark turrets and towers loomed overhead, casting eerie outlines across the pearly face of the almost full moon above. Candle light flickered from the thousands of windows like eyes, seemingly hovering in mid-air. The castle itself was enormous, and I had to crane my neck back as far as it would go to catch a glimpse of the top.

Suddenly, I was swept from Harry and the group by a colossal wave of bodies surging forwards towards the five metre high, arched entrance to the school. It was a little like being stampeded over by a herd of elephants, and extremely unpleasant. Suddenly, I remembered the last time I had described a situation as unpleasant. The time when I had been knocked over by hordes of hungry vampires, charging towards the food hall at the mountain after receiving news that a new flavour of bat broth had been produced. Immediately after I had gotten up and brushed myself off, I had been knocked to the floor again as the vampires sprinted towards the toilets.

The wisest words I had ever heard were from Seba Nile: "Banana flavoured bat broth is never a good idea,"

"Darren!" Came a familiar voice from a little further back. I turned around, now able to move in the thinning crowds as the other students filed into the castle. Ron jogged over to me, followed by Harry and Hermione, whose faces were flushed from running.

"We were looking all over for you!" Hermione exclaimed, panting hard, "I guess we should have warned you about the rush of students,"

"Its fine," I waved her worries away with a flick of my wrist, "I wasn't hurt or anything," This, however, was not entirely true. I had been prodded and bashed by a mass of elbows, knees and feet, and my body felt raw. At least, I thought, looking on the bright side, it hadn't been as bad as the banana bat broth incident, which I still had scars from, emotionally and physically.

With a reassuring smile at the guilty looking Hermione, I followed the three of them into the hall, almost stumbling over my feet due to nerves. My fingers trembled as I wiped sweat from my forehead. Why had Paris trusted me, of all people, to rescue the entire clan? It was slowly beginning to dawn on me that every important step I took affected the future of the clan. Choose Mexican for lunch? Boom, the mountain goes up in flames.

Okay, maybe nothing _that_ drastic.

But what if I got injured, and couldn't continue the mission? Or if I got drunk, and I told someone I was a vampire? Or what if-

I blinked dumbly as blinding white lights flashed before my eyes, disorientating me. In my blind panic, I hadn't realised the fact that we had already entered the hall, with Harry, Ron and Hermione standing impatiently a couple of metres away from me. They waved me over to sit at one of the four long tables arranged in the hall, but I was too awestruck to move.

The hall was huge, filled with hundred of students chatting excitedly to one another, laughing, whispering, throwing things. At the very top of the hall, overlooking the students, was another table, where a line of older witches and wizards, presumably the teachers, sat, talking politely to one another.

Large, colourful hangings hung from the ceiling above each of the four tables. An emerald one, with a silver, hissing snake across the front, the material giving off the illusion that the scales were actually gleaming. A sapphire blue one, on which was printed a majestic looking bird, probably an eagle, edged with silver. A yellow one, with a picture of a black and white badger pawing the earth. And, finally, a ruby one, with a golden lion in mid-roar across the fabric, it's mane twisting around it's head like flames. This was the table in which Harry, Ron and Hermione stood in front of, motioning me to sit down with them.

Hesitant at first, I hovered between the door and the table. From what Harry and his friends had told me about the school, you were sorted into a house; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. I doubted the other Gryffindors would be very happy that a stranger had come to sit down on their table, but, nevertheless, I scrambled over and slid in beside Ron on one of the benches.

Suddenly, the hall fell into silence. I glanced up, to see a tall, bearded man swathed in a navy cloak stand up slowly, raising his arms out wide in a welcoming gesture. I gulped. This, from what Harry had told me, was Professor Dumbledore, the beloved head-master of Hogwarts.

"Welcome, all, to a new school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Dumbledore said in a kindly, though slightly tired, voice, "Now, without further ado, let the sorting ceremony begin!"

As if on cue, a long line of young wizards, probably around eleven or twelve, filed into the hall. I could see the nerves clear on their faces as, one by one, each student was called out, and then sat on a stool while an old, battered, but unbelievingly talkative hat was placed on their heads, then shouted out the name of their respective house. Cheers went up from each table as the students sat down at the tables, until the very last name was called out.

When the newest member of Hufflepuff had sat down, the professor who had been controlling the ceremony stood, picked up the hat, and then made for the doorway.

"Excuse me, my dear Professor McGonagall!" Called Dumbledore from the top of the hall, "But I believe we have a new student in our midst who needs sorting,"

All eyes immediately turned on me, including Professor McGonagall, who waved me over. I stood, trembling, knees clattering against one another, then made my way to the front of the hall and sat on the stool. I mumbled my name to the professor, and then closed my eyes, feeling the weight of the hat rest on my head.

"Hmm," said a voice, startling me. It took me a moment to realise that the hat was talking to me inside my head, "This is interesting. You are almost split into four equal quarters. I sense honesty, a clear sign for Hufflepuff, but there is also a sense of bravery and courage, which makes me want to put you into Gryffindor. Then again, intelligence, for Ravenclaw. But, most of all, I sense trickery, deceit, destruction and power. Maybe Slytherin is the right house for you,"

I listened, my heart hammering hard against my rib cage, so hard it was threatening to burst out. What did the sorting hat mean? Destruction, power? I-

My thoughts were cut off by the sorting hat's musings, which startled me even more than discovering a talking hat.

"Aah, I understand now," The sorting hat continued. "Now I know why I am finding it so difficult to sort you. You are not a wizard, are you, boy? You are a vampire, a creature of the night."

_No! Please, you don't understand! _I thought, knowing the sorting hat could hear my pleads. It ignored them, and suddenly its voice rang through the hall.

"This boy cannot be sorted!" It spoke loudly. The whole hall gasped simultaneously, "This boy is a-"

"Shut up!" I shouted, grabbing the hat is my clenched fists and lobbing it halfway across the hall. It hit the floor softly, now crumpled and crooked. "Ow, that hurt," the hat said in a bored tone, "Minerva, please help me up,"

Professor McGonagall hurried to the hat's aid, though her gaze didn't stray from mine as she reached for the fallen hat.

With a growl, I stared downwards, avoiding the student's eyes as they stared at me in horror, and sat back at my seat on the bench, beside the startled Ron, who looked at me with wide eyes.

Part three didn't seem to be going to plan at all.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**A/N Hi everyone! This chapter is really where the action is beginning. It's a little shorter than my other chapters, but I hope you enjoy! Remember, updates will be coming every 2-3 days; I might even update this tomorrow! Please read and review!**

I hadn't made eye-contact with anyone on the way to the common room, although it was extremely difficult, considering every single student's in the schools eyes were on me, as if they were examining me, trying to work out what the sorting hat would have said next.

It wasn't surprising to see the hundreds of moving portraits, swinging staircases and a large array of annoyingly talkative ghosts speeding through the corridors. I swatted them away irritably, growling under my breath as I followed the Gryffindors towards a portrait of an extremely obese lady who seemed to be practising her opera skills. I reached for my knife, intending to stab myself, or at the very least cut off my ears, when suddenly the singing stopped and the portrait swung outwards, to reveal a large, round hole in the wall, through which I could just make out a couple of comfy looking scarlet couches set before a blazing fire.

Harry and Ron waited for me at the entrance to the common room, with worried, but nevertheless suspicious, expressions on their faces. I grunted a thank-you when I passed, and my moody attitude seemed to be a sign to them that I wasn't going to be answering any questions. It didn't matter anyway, considering most of the questions that were passing through the minds of just about every student in the school, were also going through mine.

I followed Harry and Ron up to the boy's dormitory, after bidding a curt goodnight to Hermione. Arranged across the room were six double beds, topped with thick, luxurious duvets and plumped-up pillows. At the far end of the room, to my relief, was a tall, rectangular window. Perfect.

Now was the time to put my acting skills to the test.

Feigning a yawn, I stretched my arms out wide and clambered into bed, pulling the covers over me tightly and letting my eyes close lightly. It was only when I had began to experiment with an array of fake yawns, did I realise that I had forgotten to take off my boots and jacket. I briefly considered getting out of bed like a zombie, then taking off my boots and jacket in the hope that the other boys would presume I was sleep-walking, but quickly dejected the idea. I didn't want them to think I was crazy!

Yeah, like they didn't think that already.

I was shaken by the sorting hat's words. Trickery. Deceit. Destruction. Power. What on earth had that stupid piece of cloth meant? Of course, I was a vampire prince, was that what he had meant by power? Maybe. But what about destruction, deceit and trickery? What about-

I stopped. I had been lying on the bed for quite a while now, and by the various snorts, snores and whistles that were emanating from the various bodies around me, the others were all seemingly asleep. With a final glance around to check that everyone was unconscious, I crept silently over to the window and peered out hesitantly. A face appeared suddenly at the glass.

Yelping, I stumbled backwards, then immediately slapped my hand to my mouth and glanced around nervously. A drooling Ron stirred a little, mumbled, "The chickens are coming, there's too many of them,' Then slumped back down against his pillow and continued to snore.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I returned to the window and slid it open, just enough for someone to slip through. And slip through they did.

As soon as I had stepped back from the window, two dark figures clambered over the window sill and landed lightly on the carpeted floor, brushing themselves off.

"Thanks for warning me about you coming, by the way," I spat at them, a little more viciously than I had intended to. I was still a little worked up about what had happened in the hall yesterday. The two princes just grinned at me.

"Anytime, kiddo," Arrow replied with a chuckle, and then carefully scanned the room, his eyes darting about.

"It's fine," I mumbled, "They're all asleep. Now, are we going to get going or what?" I tapped my fingers impatiently against the wooden headboard of my bed, itching to get out of here before we made any more noise and woke one of the students up.

Mika glanced at Arrow, who nodded, then the two of them followed me silently down the stairs, into the common room, then out into the corridor through the hidden entrance. I motioned them across the corridor as we tiptoed along, when suddenly-

"AND JUST WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" Came a shrieking voice from a little farther behind. Mika and Arrow whipped around simultaneously, drawing their swords from their sheaths with a snarl. Their eyes widened in disbelief as they stared back at the place we had recently emerged from.

I turned around slowly, not bothering to pull my sword out as I knew what I would find.

Despite being inside a painting, the fat lady did look alarmingly aggressive, a wine glass held high in her hand and a threatening snarl on her plump face. Her three chins wobbled angrily, and for a moment I was caught wondering just how much somebody had to eat to acquire three chins.

That was when I heard the sound of hurried footsteps rattling through the corridors, coming nearer and nearer, echoing through the school.

"Run!" I shouted to Mika and Arrow, who didn't need telling twice. Together, we sprinted through the winding corridors, leaping down staircases and dodging the large array of pillars and statues dotted around the school, with no idea where we were going, or where we would end up.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Stop," I panted, my breath coming out in short, ragged gasps. "I can't run any longer,"

Mika and Arrow shared a look with one another, also out of breath from running, and then slumped against the stone wall.

"Do you think we've outrun them?" Mika worried, running a hand through his dark hair, which was now lank and damp from sweat.

We had sprinted, full speed, for at least five minutes straight, with no destination in mind, the only thought going through our minds was that we had to get as far away from the scene at the common room as possible.

We were standing in a large, wide corridor, with passageways branching out in all directions around us. The space was lined with huge, towering glass cabinets, displaying a large array of cups, trophies, plaques and shields, some which dated all the way back from the 1800's. At the end of the corridor was a large, golden door, with two menacing looking gargoyles planted at either side of it.

I motioned Mika and Arrow to follow me towards the door, an idea already forming in my head to where it might lead to. My footsteps echoed hollowly against the polished marble floor, and not for the first time I was regretting not having taken my boots off.

When we arrived at the door, Arrow immediately reached forwards and rattled the handle. It didn't budge.

"It's locked," he sighed, going forwards to rake a hand through his hair as Mika had done, then suddenly remembering he didn't have any.

"Thanks for clearing that up, Captain Obvious," I grunted, then, just to spite him, I raked a hand through my own hair and did a sexy slow motion hair whip. Arrow turned away abruptly, a slightly disgusted look on his face. I wondered if it was just a coincidence that whenever I had done that to girls at my school, they had used exactly the same expression.

"I think I know what's behind that door," I said, after a moment's hesitation, "I think that through there is the headmaster's office. And by the sound of it, that's most likely where the Stone of Blood is being kept,"

Mika and Arrow looked a little startled by my sudden theory, staring at me in surprise.

"Y-y-you mean that behind that door," Mika jerked a thumb back at the entrance, "Is the Stone?"

I nodded, and, to my own surprise, the two princes broke out in huge grins. I frowned at them, why were they grinning? We didn't have the Stone yet, just a guess to where it _might_ be. Before I could remind them about this, Arrow whooped in delight.

"Perfect! All we need to do is get inside, grab the Stone, then we're out of here!"

Mika nodded eagerly, and not for the first time I was surprised at how dim the two princes could be. I mean, you would have thought they would've learned _something_ in their two-hundred plus years of life. Clearly not.

"It's not that simple!" I sighed, exasperated, "We can't even get into the office, let alone get the Stone. And if we did happen to get into the office, which seems incredibly unlikely at this point, what if there are some magical charms in there, protecting the Stone, or if there are already people in there? We have to plan this, step by step-"

"But planning's _boring_!" Arrow groaned, then added cheerfully, "And anyway, I'm not a planning type of guy. I'm the type of guy who just charges in and hopes for the best!"

I folded my arms firmly across my chest, already preparing a speech rapidly inside my head which could help them realise that we couldn't just barge in. I decided to go for the calm, responsible method.

"Look, can't you just get it through that thick skull of yours that-"

I was interrupted by the sounds of hurried whispering coming from the other end of the corridor, and the sounds of cautious footsteps as whoever it was made their way slowly down the corridor. Oh, no.

Pulling my hood up carefully, I peered around, just enough so that I could see them, but they couldn't see my face.

Oh, no, no, no.

Creeping down the corridor, wands raised defensively, were a small group of adult witches and wizards. I recognised Professor McGonagall huddled between two other teachers at the front of the group, one, whose tall frame was swathed in black, with a long, crooked nose and greasy hair, and another, small and squat, a pair of tiny, round glasses placed on his nose which he peered out of, terror in his eyes.

"This is Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape and Filius Flitwick," spoke the man with the greasy black hair, stepping forwards gracefully, black cloak swishing out behind him, "Put your wands and weapons down now, or I warn you we will force them off of you,"

My back still turned to the group, I glanced around to look at Mika and Arrow, who were both poised for battle, their weapons clutched tightly in their hands.

'_We need to get back to the common room' _I mouthed to the two princes, whose shoulders slumped in disappointment. They were always up for a fight.

'_Three, two, one-" _ I mouthed, as we prepared to sprint back to the common room.

Arrow cried out in pain, just as a long, snaking bolt of light lashed from Snape's wand and connected with his leg. I winced as a sharp, cracking noise met my ear.

"Grab him!" Mika bellowed, and together, we hauled the wailing Arrow up so he was resting on our shoulders, then half carried, half dragged him down one of the twisting passageways, towards what we hoped was the way to the common room. The wizards didn't follow.

I didn't sleep a wink that night.

After dragging a severely bleeding Arrow through the portrait hole and into the common room, his right leg twisted at an impossible angle, Mika and I had torn strips of cloth away from the bed sheets and wrapped them tightly around his leg in a sloppy attempt to stop the flow of blood.

Suddenly, Mika pushed Arrow under the bed, then slid in beside him, quickly pulling blankets over themselves to conceal the fact that they were there.

"What are you doing?" I groaned at him, reaching out for his arm to try and yank him back out from under the bed.

"Check the time," He hissed, then said no more, his head disappearing under the tower of blankets camouflaging himself and the other prince.

Muttering under my breath, I had glanced at the clock, expecting it to be around two or three in the morning.

I was slightly surprised at how bad I was at judging the time.

It was seven am.

Suddenly, a loud, ringing noise snapped me into action, and I noticed the small, retro alarm clock beside Ron's bed vibrating wildly. I leapt into bed, not bothering to pull the covers over me in the hope that Ron would be too groggy to notice.

He wasn't.

"Why don't you have your covers on?" Ron asked through a long, tired yawn as he dragged himself out of bed and across the room to wake the sleeping Harry. I could see the other boys in the room stirring as well, some were even sitting up and making their way towards the bathroom.

"I got warm during the night," I replied after a hesitant moment.

Ron nodded as he passed my bed, and then stopped abruptly, a look of horror on his freckled face. He pointed a trembling finger towards the end of the bed.

"What is it?" I asked with a frown, leaning forwards to look where Ron was pointing at. What could he be-

Then, with a groan, I remembered what happened.

Blood spattered the carpet in huge, gleaming dollops, still fresh and sticky. My bed sheets, or what was left of them, were also covered in the thick, coppery liquid, torn in half to use as bandages for Arrow's wound. It must have been a pretty gruesome sight.

"I, emm, sleepwalk sometimes," I stuttered, trying desperately to think of an answer, "I probably tore the covers off and then scratched myself on something,"

Ron turned away, still gasping a little in shock and disgust, and while he wasn't looking in my direction, I carefully reached up and sliced a small, thin gash in my arm with the blade of my knife, wincing as the metal stung my bare skin. Fresh blood trickled from the cut.

After shaking awake a grumbling Harry, Ron wandered over again to examine the blood. "Are you sure that's from you sleepwalking?" He asked dubiously, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Of course it is," I answered, more cheerily than I had meant to, "Look."

I held out my bloody arm, to a chorus of gagging noises from Ron and the other students. Ron turned away quickly, just as Harry stepped over, chuckling drily.

"Ron hates the sight of blood," He laughed, patting his friend on the back comfortingly, then, just as he looked as if he were about to say something else, he stopped dead.

"What the-" Harry began, staring down at the floor. I could see his cheeks flushing furiously as he seemed to stutter for something to say.

I clambered out of bed carefully, wondering what on earth was making Harry blush so much. Maybe it was the blood, or maybe-

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

What Harry was staring at was even more disturbing than blood on the floor, or just about anything else for that matter. Lying on the floor in a crumpled heap, was a pair of black, studded, prince-sized underpants.

Wrinkling my nose, I reached down to take them off of the floor, holding them as far away from my face as I could, then flung them onto my bed. Just as I turned away, a hand snaked up from under the bed and pulled them discreetly back down.

"They aren't, I mean, I don't mind if they are, like, you know, they are nice, emm pants," Harry was beginning to resemble a tomato, and, feeling sorry for the poor Gryffindor, I stepped in quickly and said.

"My mum bought them for me," I gave a small, shrill laugh, "They're the ugliest things you've ever seen, aren't they?"

Harry relaxed visibly, laughing, along with me, when I stopped abruptly to the shock of a hard kick on my ankle.

"Ouch!" I yelped, whipping around, to see a long, black booted foot zipping back under the bed.

Harry frowned at me, though asked no more. Instead, he pushed me towards the bathroom, saying, "You better get ready, we've got lessons today,"

No! Not the lessons! Anything but the lessons!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

**A/N Hi everybody! This is a slightly edited version of this chapter. I didn't like the other one that I put up, so I decided to change it slightly. Please review, it means a lot when people take their time to review my story, and makes me want to update faster! Please enjoy!**

As I stepped through the huge, wooden double-doors leading into the Great Hall, the previously bustling place lapsed into a sudden, hushed silence, broken only by the odd, frenzied whisper. Even the teachers stopped to stare at the mysterious boy who couldn't be sorted. It didn't exactly take a genius to work out who they were staring at.

"I think it's that new hairstyle of yours, mate," I whispered to Harry in an attempt to make light of the situation, although I knew that my slightly wavering voice gave my nerves away completely.

Of course it wasn't Harry the whole school was staring at.

It was me.

To be honest, I was a little surprised, and suspicious, of how loyal the three Gryffindors had been to me throughout the two days I had been here. Defending me, ignoring the gossip, and treating me like a proper friend, despite the fact that they had so much reason to be wary of me.

The group huddled around me, as if they could protect me from the stares and gossips, then, with an encouraging nod, Hermione broke away and flounced across the hall towards the Gryffindor table, with Harry, Ron and I no choice but to follow.

I sat down immediately next to Harry and Hermione, my head bent over my breakfast plate. Harry, however, stopped momentarily before sitting down, and for a brief moment, I thought I caught him exchanging a coded glance with Dumbledore. I straightened up a little, but the moment had already passed, and Harry was seated next to me, shovelling scrambled eggs onto his plate.

"Excuse me," Came the familiar, gravelly voice of Dumbledore from the front of the hall. I glanced up to see the Professor now standing up at his place in the middle of the teacher's table. His half moon glasses were perched precariously on the tip of his nose, and wobbled slightly when he spoke, "I have an extremely important announcement,"

Every single pair of eyes in the hall immediately turned from me to the headmaster, listening intently to what he had to say.

"A group of Death Eaters were discovered last night, attempting to break into my office. One of them was injured, but the three of them managed to escape. We have no idea of their whereabouts, and they are possibly still roaming the school. Due to these facts, the school is now on lockdown. No student may leave the school grounds, and all students must be in their common rooms by 9:30. No exceptions. These changes will apply until the school has been deemed safe by the ministry,"

Ending on this happy note, Dumbledore sat back down, leaving the students to gawp in silence. Just when I imagined that the entire school would remain silent for the remainder of the meal, the hall suddenly burst out in chatter as the excited pupils pondered over where the Death Eaters could be. Little did they know that one of their supposed 'Death Eaters' was seated in the same room as them.

"Harry," I asked the scruffy-haired boy beside me, who, surprisingly, didn't seem interested in any of the gossip sweeping through the hall, "What's our first class?"

Harry turned to me with a grim smile, setting his fork down slowly, having finished his mountain of scrambled eggs, "Defence against the Dark Arts," he replied, then added sarcastically, "And you'll just _love_ the teacher,"

"Wands away!" sang the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher as she practically skipped along the aisle between the desks.

I stared at her in disgust. The woman resembled a toad with a skin disease. Her piggy eyes looked at the class with apprehension, and I imagined that at the end of each lesson she slathered herself in hand sanitizer, just in case one of the 'filthy brats' touched her. The Professor was wearing a short, tight pink dress, which did absolutely nothing to complement her squat, lumpy figure.

This, as Harry had told me, was Professor Umbridge.

"Today," she squealed in her bitter sweet voice, "We are going to be learning about vampires,"

I leaned back idly in my chair and folded my arms across my chest. This was going to be interesting.

"Firstly," Umbridge began the lesson, "Does anybody happen to know any facts about vampires?"

A few hands rose shakily. Umbridge smiled sweetly, then pointed to each raised hand in turn with a plump finger. Each 'fact' was more absurd than the next.

"They can't go near holy water, garlic or crosses," said Hermione matter-of-factly, to a nod of approval from Toad-Face.

A small smile played on my lips, despite the fact that I had assumed all of this myself when I had first become a vampire, to the great amusement of Mr Crepsley.

"They have fangs," said another.

I suppressed a small giggle.

"They sparkle," said another, and the class fell into a sudden, shocked silence, staring at the speaker in horror.

I glanced at Umbridge who was shaking with rage, her hands curling into fists as she stared at the terrified boy who had suggested sparkling vampires.

"Oh, oh," whispered Ron from behind me with a mischievous smirk, "She's going to blow! Three, two, one-"

"GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW AND NEVER COME BACK!" screeched Umbridge in anger, pointing a trembling finger towards the door.

The boy stuttered uncontrollably, then, at another scream of rage from Umbridge, leapt from his chair with such force that it clattered to the floor, and then bolted out of the room.

By the end of it all, I was curled up in my chair, unable to suppress my laughter any longer. Mr Crepsley had told me that humans knew little to nothing about real vampires, but I hadn't realised they could be _this_ stupid. Sparkling vampires? I mean, come on-

"And what is it you find so funny, young man," hissed a voice from behind me, warm breath irritating the back of my neck.

"Nothing, Professor," I said carefully, my body rigid. The last thing I wanted to do was attract attention to myself.

Yes, I was blending in perfectly with all the students so far, didn't want to ruin my streak. Ha ha.

Professor Umbridge shot me a glare that Mr Crepsley would have been proud of, and then waddled back to the front of the classroom to resume her lesson.

As she drawled on, I thought of all the things that had happened in the past week. The Stone of Blood being stolen, travelling to a wizard school, nearly being discovered by a talking hat, and having to touch Mika's underpants.

What a brilliant start to a new school year.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

**A/N I can't believe I've forgotten to d**o t**he disclaimer! Okay, here goes – These characters, places and things are owned by the master of horror himself, Darren Shan, and J.K Rowling. Please review! Like I said, it means a lot when people take their time to review my story, and makes me want to update faster! Enjoy!**

After an extremely long, boring, and slightly offensive Defence against the DarkArts class, we were finally allowed to leave the stuffy classroom.

It hadn't been the best day for me. Charms, Transfiguration and Muggle Studies followed, and after discovering my stick/wand had been snapped in half, presumably when I had sat down on the train, well, let's just say the teachers weren't too happy. I had just managed to squirm my way out of detention after convincing Professor Flitwick that it must have been a prank played by some of the other students, taking my wand away and replacing it with a stick. Mind you, it was harder than I had expected. The little guy was smarter than he looked.

Now, I was seated on my bed in the Gryffindor common room, having received no homework from any of the teachers. The rest of the students had gone downstairs to have dinner, but I had other plans. Anyway, I had absolutely stuffed myself at lunch, chewing on tough steak as if it were bread. I could even proudly say that I had eaten more than Ron, who, apparently, had a reputation for having a big appetite.

I glanced around the empty common room quickly, listening intently to hear any footsteps coming up the stairs. Nothing.

"You can come out now," I bent down and called to the two princes who lay, cramped, under the bed, glaring at me in annoyance.

Arrow raised his hand to flash me the finger, and then stopped for a second, as if suddenly realising that it was very un-princely, but then decided to do it anyway.

I just laughed, then, latching onto Mika's hand, I dragged the dark prince out from under the bed, who seemed permanently stuck in the same bent position.

"My back!"`Arrow moaned as he, too, heaved himself out from under the bed, clutching his back with a pained expression on his face, and glaring at me as he did so.

Shrugging, I took a seat on the bed and motioned Mika and Arrow to do the same, who gratefully sank down onto the mattress.

"What we need to do first," I began, "Is to get into Dumbledore's office and look for-"

"Aaaarg!" Came a piercing scream from the door, cutting off the rest of my words.

Mika and Arrow stared at me with wide eyes, before diving under the bed sheets in a poor attempt to camouflage themselves. But it was too late, the person at the door had already seen them, and he was calling for help.

"Harry, Hermione!" called a familiar voice in a distressed, and extremely scared, tone. I whipped around just in time to see Harry and Hermione sprinting up the stairs to where a terrified Ron stood, literally quaking in his boots.

I groaned, my head in my hands. How had everything gone so wrong so fast? We had only been here for two days, and already we had been found. What a waste of-

My thoughts were cut short by the sharp feeling of something pricking my throat. With a gulp, I moved my head carefully to see the confused, but nevertheless angry, face of Harry, his wand digging painfully into my neck.

"Who the hell are you?" He growled, pushing the wand in harder, "Who are these people? What are you, Death Eaters?"

With out answering, I swivelled my head slowly to see that Mika and Arrow were going through something similar with Ron and Hermione, held at wand-point. Unlike me, though, the two Gryffindors hadn't been brave enough to get close to the huge, muscular princes, so they were standing a good metre or so back.

I gave a small nod to Mika and Arrow, who hesitated a moment, then shrugged. If we had any hope of completing the mission, then we would have to tell the three friends the truth.

We would have to reveal that we were vampires.

I gave a final sigh, then said wearily to Harry, "Get that stick away and I'll tell you the truth."

Reluctantly, Harry drew his wand back and stepped away slowly, although his gaze never left mine, and his wand was still held defensively in his hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ron and Hermione doing the same.

"I'm, I mean,_ we're_, not wizards," I said with a sigh, and then proceeded to tell the whole story of how I had gotten here and why we had come. The trio listened on with horror. After I was finished, the three students stared at each other silently, mouths gaping. The silence was broken only when Ron finally sucked up his courage and breathed, "So you really are vampires?"

I gave a small nod, "And we need to get the Stone of Blood back, soon, or the whole clan will fall. Can you help us?"

"What would we have to do?" Hermione asked suspiciously, staring apprehensively at the three of us. I was surprised we hadn't already been showered by questions from her, she was usually so inquisitive.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, and then said slowly, "We need to sneak into Dumbledore's office, I think that's where the Stone of Blood is,"

The three students gasped simultaneously, when Harry finally said, "No, we can't. Any anyway, Dumbledore would never take the Stone of Blood, he's not like that,"

That was exactly what I had been expecting. The trio, Harry in particular, were extremely loyal to the headmaster, and had so much respect for him. But we needed to get into that office, and soon.

"Please," I pleaded, "The whole fate of the clan rests in our hands, even if we could just have a little look around, we won't touch anything valuable. We're very careful, you know, and sensible"

Hermione rose at eyebrow towards Mika and Arrow, who were fighting over who got the raisin on the floor, managing to knock the lamp over in the process.

"Yeah," Ron said drily, eyeing the pair, "I'm definitely getting a careful and sensible vibe,"

I shot a look at the princes, who immediately stopped fighting. It turned out Arrow had won, and was now proudly holding up his prize raisin.

"So?" I asked hopefully, leaning forwards, "Will you help us?"

The three friends looked at each other, and then nodded slowly.

I yelled out in triumph, when a choking sound met my ears.

"That," Arrow spat, "Is _not_ a raisin,"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer: All the characters, places and things in this story belong to Darren Shan and J.K Rowling. Sorry about the short chapter, this is where they are planning what to do next, the next chapters are probably going to be the most exciting ones. Please enjoy!**

"I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I'm doing this," Muttered Ron over and over to himself as the six of us crept along the corridor towards the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Mika and Arrow were concealed by Harry's invisibility cloak, although it was only large enough to cover half of their bodies, leaving two pairs of random legs striding across the corridor.

"I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe I-"

"Shut up!" I hissed angrily at Ron, who immediately quieted down. Whereas Harry and Hermione had treated me the same as before they knew I was a vampire, Ron had become extremely wary of me, and made a point of keeping away from me.

Finally, we reached the door. I looked at Harry expectantly, signalling for him to say the password. He blushed a little, as if it embarrassed him, then announced, "Sherbet Lemons."

He looked back, grinning, "Dumbledore tends to choose his password depending on what sweets he likes best," He explained.

I nodded vaguely, and then jumped as a strange sweeping noise met my ears. Spinning around, I glanced back at the door, which was sliding open slowly to reveal a steep, golden staircase twirling up towards what was seemingly the head master's office.

Without a second thought, the legs of Mika and Arrow bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time. I followed hastily, knowing that if we left the two princes alone up there for too long, they would end up smashing something.

On the last step, I stopped to glance back, to where Harry had now appeared beside me. Together, we stepped into the office.

Too late.

The first thing I saw when I stepped onto the polished, wooden floor of the office was Mika and Arrow hastily trying to push the broken remains of something under a table.

"Mika did it!"

"Arrow did it!"

They shouted in unison, and then glared at each other.

I glanced at Harry, worried that Dumbledore would notice the missing ornament. He shook his head with a wry smile.

"It was placed at the edge of the desk, anyway." He assured me, indicating the huge, oak desk standing before us, "He'll probably think it just fell off,"

Every square inch of desk was covered in piles of paper, stacks of books, globes, ornaments, not unlike the one that Mika and Arrow recently smashed, and tiny, glass vials. I wandered across the floor towards it, intrigued by all the magical items on display, running my hands across the thick, leather bound covers of the ancient textbooks.

Turning slowly, I scanned the room, where Mika and Arrow were pulling out drawers, knocking over display cabinets and scraping clean desks. Harry watched with a slight amusement as he pulled out his wand and turned it absentmindedly over in his hands.

"You know," He chuckled, "There is a slightly easier way of finding the Stone, if it's in here, that is,"

With that, Harry flicked his wrist upwards and called, "Accio Stone of Blood!"

I held my breath, waiting for the Stone to come whirring through the air and land at my feet. But nothing happened.

Frowning, Harry repeated the spell, but still, no Stone appeared.

"What's happening?" Mika asked, leaping over a fallen desk and arriving beside Ron, who immediately flinched away.

"That was a summoning spell," Harry said dejectedly, pushing his wand back into his pocket with a sigh, "The Stone of Blood isn't here, Darren."

What? Where else would it be, then? I turned to Mika and Arrow, who were both looking extremely down heartened.

"It must be here though!" I said desperately, scrabbling around the ruined office.

Suddenly, Hermione stepped forwards, clearing her throat, "Excuse me," She said, sounding slightly terrified, "But what if the Stone of Blood wasn't stolen by Dumbledore?"

"But Paris said that it was-" I asked, baffled, but was quickly cut off by Hermione as she continued her theory.

"What if it was stolen by dark wizards? What if it was stolen by Death Eaters?"

I gasped, sharing a look of utter astonishment with Harry. He had told me a little about the Death Eaters, a rouge band of dark wizards who followed the dark lord, Voldemort.

"How are we going to find dark wizards, nevertheless find out where they're keeping the Stone? We wouldn't even know where to start!" Arrow sighed, kicking a chair in despair and sending it clattering to the ground.

A small smile played on Hermione's lips, the same smile Paris had had when he had told us about his plan. Hermione knew exactly where to start.

"Malfoy Manor,"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

**A/N Hey, guys, sorry I haven't updated in a… while. It's been pretty hectic with school and whatnot, but I will try and update as often as I can from now on! All these characters, places and things belong to J.K Rowling and Darren Shan. :-)**

"The what?" I yelped, breaking the awkward silence between us, in which Harry, Ron and Hermione had been exchanging coded glances.

Hermione turned to me, still sporting the same, sly grin. She was certain her plan was going to work, whereas I wasn't.

"The Malfoy's own a huge manor, where the Death Eaters sometimes hold meetings. It's massive, dungeons and everything. If we could get in there and find the Stone of Blood…"

Hermione trailed off, allowing myself and the others to ponder over her plan. We all knew what would happen if we found the Stone of Blood and got out safely. Mika, Arrow and I would be branded heroes, we would leave the school, go back to the mountain, and live our lives normally. But what would happen if we got in there, but didn't get out safely?

Arrow and Mika seemed all for the idea, chatting excitedly and obviously extremely enthusiastic about the plan. Maybe I was being a little too paranoid. They were just humans, weren't they? Humans with sticks. Sticks that could kill a grown man from across a room.

Did I over think too much?

The three Gryffindors were seemingly sure as well, already planning escape routes, the layout of the house and how to get out of the school unnoticed.

And me? Well, I wouldn't say I was enthusiastic about the idea. Nor was I okay with it. I was none of these things.

Scared as hell and, under no circumstances, ever going near a dark wizard's house, EVER?

Yeah, you could say that.

Yes, I knew that being a vampire, I had to take risks. Battling vampaneze, killing wild animals, completing my trials of death, even having to contend with Mr Crepsley every day. I had signed up for all that. But this? This was not on my contract. I wasn't going to do this for anything. Not for a million pounds. Not for the chance to meet Madonna. Not even to see Mr Crepsley dancing to the popular song 'Gangnam Style' In front of the whole clan -

"Darren, we'll make Mr Crepsley do that weird Korean song, Gangnam Style, in front of the whole clan," Mika groaned, after a small sigh.

Crap, they knew my weaknesses.

I was going to ask for Madonna (preferably in a cat suit, but I didn't mind) to dance _with_ Mr Crepsley, but I thought that might be pushing my luck I little.

Before I could argue any further, Harry interjected quickly.

"Then that's settled. We go to the Malfoy Manor, have a look around, then see if we can find and get the Stone,"

Frowning, I spoke up quickly, "I don't remember settling th-"

"This is the only way we can get out of this imbroglio, so we're going!" Arrow announced loudly, shooting me a menacing glare.

Imbroglio. Wow, Arrow had a wider vocabulary than I thought.

"Look," I continued lamely, knowing that my stubbornness was in vain, "How are we even going to get out? The schools on lockdown, nobody is allowed to leave!"

Now it was Harry's turn to give the sly smile. The smile that, during the past couple of days, had made me want to punch anyone in the face who made it.

"What did we do the last time we needed to get out of the school? Now, where's Luna when you need her?"

As Mika, Arrow and I followed the three wizards silently from the office, I turned to Arrow and asked, "Hey, Arrow, what the hell does imbroglio even mean?"

"No idea, mate,"

"What in Charna's Guts is that?" I gasped as the small, fair-haired girl led a huge, dark horse across the yellowed grass, her large, dreamy eyes drifting over us with a distant expression on her face, as if she was in a world of her own.

This, it seemed, was Luna Lovegood. And, pawing the ground beside her was our plan for escape.

Luna's head turned slowly at the sound of my voice, her watery blue eyes staring at me in an unsettling way. Even Mika and Arrow were squirming slightly under the mysterious girl's gaze.

"This," She spoke softly, her voice like cotton wool, "Is a Thestral. Only people who have witnessed death can see it,"

Harry, Mika and Arrow were all staring at the strange horse before us, smoky steam erupting from it's nostrils as it breathed out heavily, impatient to get going. However, Ron and Hermione were glancing around rapidly, their eyes looking in every direction as if they were searching for something. Looking for the horse. Ron and Hermione couldn't see the horse.

"Excuse me," I interjected quickly, batting away Mika's hand as he prodded me with my wand/stick, "How are Ron and Hermione going to ride those things if they can't see them?"

"Only people who have witnessed death can see them, Darren, so I guess –" Hermione began, her voice trailing into that crisp and clear tone which she used when she was stating a fact.

"Oh, it's quite all right," I interrupted, "I don't mind killing Mika, and you two can watch as I stick that stupid stick up his-"

"Enough!" Harry muttered, looking exasperated, "Let's just get on these Thestrals as soon as possible. It's getting dark, and it won't be long, before the teacher's start patrolling the school grounds for students,"

Everybody nodded, then, at a hush from Luna, waited patiently (or impatiently in Mika and Arrow's case) as Luna whistled softly.

There was utter silence for a few moments, before my ears picked up the sound of hooves thundering close by, and getting closer. I glanced at Mika and Arrow, who had noticed it too, though Harry, Ron and Hermione still looked blank, oblivious to what must have been, by my senses, around six or seven horses.

I tensed, bracing myself for the group of Thestrals to come charging into the clearing in which we were stood.

I didn't need to wait for long.

Suddenly, the first huge, midnight beast burst through the bushes around us, snorting clouds of smoke, velvety wings flapping. It was followed by another five, who came thrashing through the forest, skidding to a screeching, snorting halt before each of us, until there was a Thestral pawing the earth before the six of us.

Obviously, Mika and Arrow were fighting over who got the biggest Thestral. After the incident with the raisin/ unspecified object, Mika was determined to win, so far succeeding in tackling Arrow to the floor, where they wrestled viciously.

Harry and I shared an exasperated glance, before pulling the two vampires off from one another. I sent them angrily off, arguing that neither of them were allowed the biggest horse, taking it for myself. Mika and Arrow slumped shamefully towards a pair of smaller horses, one of which almost buckled under the massive weight of Arrow on it's tiny back.

Now, as Harry and I returned to our horses, we both muttered simultaneously –

"Blimey, Vampires are such hard work,"

"Charna's guts, Vampires are such hard work,"


End file.
